Food Storage Ideas

This year we are trying to build our pantry inventory. There are three big problems I have to consider about increasing the amount of food we store in the house.... 1. We will be moving across the country in nine months and need to be able to pack things conveniently. 2. I have had pantry pests and other bugs in every apartment so I need to make sure that all food is protected from bugs, mice, and rats. 3. We are moving to an area where it floods (regularly). This year the city was under 27 ft of water so I need to be prepared for in case we too are flooded! YIKES!!! Oh, and they have tornadoes regularly too.....I'm getting more and more anxious about this move as I think about it.

MY SOLUTIONS?!?!?

PLASTIC STORAGE CONTAINERS!!! Juice Bottles- We drink a significant amount of juice at our house and we prefer to purchase it ready made. I have started cleaning our juice bottles and storing our noodles, dry beans, soup mixes, and some baking items in the bottles. It is a way to recycle the things I use, and they are clear so I can see what I have on hand and how much. I have labeled them and included the cooking times so I don't have to pull out my cookbooks. Edwin likes that they are two deep in the cupboard and they organized the piles of things I had stacked in a box before. Icing Buckets- My sister-in-law Susan suggested I go to the local bakery (I use the bakery at the grocery store) collect their empty icing buckets. I get mine for free, but Susan said some stores charge a little for them, you will have to do your research for your area. The buckets come with a gasket seal on them so they will keep food fresher longer, and they are food grade plastic. They do come sticky (usually rinsed out, but certainly not clean) so it is a bit more work to clean them and dry them so I can use them. They come in 3 gallon and 5 gallon sizes and I have currently stored my flour, rice, and oatmeal in them. Although we are focusing on short-term food storage the buckets can be used for long-term storage too. At http://www.providentliving.org/ under the heading Family Home Storage follow the links to long-term storage to find directions on how to use gasket sealed buckets and dry ice to pack items up to 30 years. Good luck on your food storage endeavors.